Not a bad consolation prize

LOS ANGELES – Washington State didn’t get its opportunity to play for the Pac-10 tournament men’s basketball title Saturday. Instead the Cougars will receive a consolation prize today: a second consecutive NCAA tournament berth.

The 24-8 Cougars will gather with their fans today at 2 p.m. in Bohler Gym to watch the selection show that begins an hour later on CBS.

But the only thing the crowd will be anticipating is WSU’s seed and subregional site. The Cougars are all but certain to receive an at-large berth and make back-to-back NCAA trips for the first time.

“We are in the NCAA tournament, which is a tremendous opportunity for us,” said WSU coach Tony Bennett after Friday night’s 75-68 loss to Stanford in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals. “I told our guys that every game you play for the seniors now is the possibility of being your last one.”

No matter what WSU’s seed or where the Cougars are sent – the West subregionals are in Denver and Anaheim, Calif. – they know they must play better than they did Friday to ensure their opening-round game isn’t that last one.

“We can learn a lot from this game,” said senior Kyle Weaver, who had a career-high 25 points against the Cardinal. “Hopefully, we can take some of our flaws that were exposed (Friday night) and try to clean them up a bit.”

The Cougs’ destination has been the subject of much speculation, with ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi penciling them into a sixth seed with a first-round game against Baylor in the Midwest in Omaha, Neb. (Lunardi had Gonzaga as a No. 7 seed in the South playing Arkansas, also in Omaha).

Any place, however, is just conjecture until the selection committee reveals its decisions this afternoon.

How many Pac-10 teams will join tournament champion – and automatic-berth recipient – UCLA in the NCAAs is still up in the air, but Stanford coach Trent Johnson has a number he thinks is appropriate.

“I would be extremely disappointed if there weren’t seven teams,” Johnson said Friday, including his own team as a lock along with USC and WSU.